I was able to quickly finish up the "Guide to Sit and Gos" challenge very quickly last night. All I had to do was a play a 9-handed, non-turbo, real-money sit 'n go. I ended up going out in 9th place during level 4 (50/100 blinds). My AA fell to a flopped set of 3's. As much as I hate going out in 9th, I think I played well and was happy to clear my first FTP Academy challenge.

Next up is Aaron Bartley's "Sit & Go By The Numbers" challenge!
This second challenge is a little more involved. There are five multi-part tasks that make up this challenge:

Don't finish in the bottom 3 spots in a 9-handed SNG. (x4)

Fold AJ, AT, A9, KQ, or KJ in early position with 7 or more active players left in a 9-handed SNG. (x2)

Go all-in wiht AQ,AJ, or AT with 5-6 players remaining in a 9-handed SNG.

Play a SNG where the buy-in for each SNG is no greater than 2% of my current Full Tilt Poker bankroll (~$200). (x5)

Pro Play: Win a 9-handed SNG. (x2)

The "Sit & Go By The Numbers" challenge is worth 200 credits.

I find the tasks in this challenge really emphasize the most basic points to successfully navigating a sit 'n go. Play tight when the stacks are deep relative to the blinds, growing progressively more aggressive as the blinds increase and the table shortens.

I played a couple $2 SNGs towards this challenge last night. I finished in 6th place (A7 < KJ when I shoved against tight-ish BB with 9.5 BB effective stack) and in 5th place (T9 < TT after getting smoked J9 vs. AK). I played reasonably well though I can't help but feel that I missed some good steal and re-steal opportunities.

I plan on continuing with the current challenge over the weekend. I'm not sure how long this challenge will take to finish given the requirement to win two SNGs. But given the stakes I'm playing, I can afford to take my time and enjoy the experience.